TAMPA ¨C In Max Fried's mind, the clean eighth-inning single that Jake Mangum laced into the outfield represented the end of his bid for a no-hitter. The Yankees left-hander was unaware that a scoring change had taken place just a few minutes prior, converting what had initially been ruled a sixth-inning error into a hit.
Known for his cool temperament, Fried eyed the scoreboard and greeted that edit with a shrug, less concerned with the hit column than the one showing his team in front. The Yankees are counting on many more dominant performances like the one Fried turned in on Sunday afternoon, pitching his new club to a 4-0 victory over the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
¡°I¡¯m just trying to be myself,¡± Fried said. ¡°When I take the ball, I just want to make sure we have a really good chance to win that day. When I prep, I just want to make sure that I¡¯m leaving everything out there, no matter how I feel or what the circumstances are.¡±
Outings like this were what the Yankees envisioned when they signed Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract on Dec. 17. But they planned to pair Fried with Gerrit Cole at the top of the rotation. With Cole out for the season, Fried has shouldered the load with aplomb, improving to 4-0 with a 1.42 ERA in five starts.
¡°He¡¯s incredible,¡± Aaron Judge said. ¡°Everything that people have said about him from afar, he¡¯s the real deal. You see it up close, especially to lose a guy like Gerrit Cole, who you can¡¯t replace, and then you sub in Max Fried to go and be that ace for us. It¡¯s been fun to watch.¡±
Added Cody Bellinger: ¡°It doesn¡¯t surprise me at all. I¡¯ve gotten plenty of at-bats off him with very little success. He¡¯s one of the best pitchers in the game. He knows how to pitch.¡±
Trent Grisham, Bellinger and Austin Wells homered for the Yankees, who were still buzzing late about Judge¡¯s eighth-inning drive, which was ruled to stand as a foul ball after umpires determined the replay was inconclusive. That prompted manager Aaron Boone¡¯s first ejection of the season.
It wasn¡¯t the only hot-button topic of the day.
Chandler Simpson¡¯s sixth-inning grounder was changed from an error to a hit shortly before Fried went to the mound in the bottom of the eighth, as official scorer Bill Mathews announced it was ¡°very apparent¡± Simpson would have beaten Paul Goldschmidt to first base if the ball had been handled cleanly.
Mangum then laced Fried¡¯s fifth pitch of the inning into the outfield. Whatever the call, Fried was excellent, walking off to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 10,046.
¡°I had no idea [about the scoring change]. I looked up and saw two hits,¡± Fried said. ¡°It is what it is. I¡¯m just happy we got the win.¡±
The Yankees committed three errors behind Fried, who walked two and struck out two in a 102-pitch performance (64 strikes), navigating traffic without issue (including a fourth-inning pickoff of Christopher Morel at second base).
¡°That¡¯s a peek at how great he is, because I thought it was a grind for him,¡± Boone said. ¡°I thought it took him a while to find his secondary stuff today. He only punched out two, but he just pitches so well with the fastball ¨C sinker, four-seam, add, subtract, move it around.¡±
There were sharp defensive plays, too. In the fifth inning, Grisham battled the wind in center field to catch a Mangum fly ball, then threw to second base to complete a double play.
Second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. made a sparkling play that seemingly kept the no-hit bid alive in the seventh inning, ranging 74 feet from his position into shallow center field to secure a Morel popup.
¡°I¡¯ve been trusting this defense all year,¡± Fried said. ¡°They had some unbelievable plays behind me today to be able to keep attacking those guys. It¡¯s a lot easier when I can go out there and just hunt some contact.¡±
It was the second-longest no-hit bid of Fried¡¯s career; last May 11 with the Braves, he held the Mets hitless through seven innings at Citi Field, tossing 109 pitches (68 strikes) before being lifted.
Fried hadn¡¯t thrown more than 98 pitches this season, and Boone had a tough call on his hands. He said the Yankees had been wrestling with that same issue.
¡°I probably wouldn¡¯t have let him go to 120,¡± Boone said. ¡°There was a conversation to be had there if he got through the eighth. I think he was a little bit gassed.¡±
The Yankees have won eight of their past 11 games after taking three of four from the Rays, marking their first regular-season visit to their Spring Training home.
¡°It was a pretty crazy series,¡± Bellinger said. ¡°Max just came out and did his thing and pitched into the eighth inning. Playing behind him is special, man. He¡¯s got some really good stuff, and we¡¯re playing really good as a team right now. It¡¯s fun to be a part of.¡±